Armenian Opposition Says President Weakened By Turkey Deal

September 19, 2009 11:27 GMT

Hrant Markarian, head of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) party

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Armenian Opposition Says President Weakened By Turkey Deal

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YEREVAN -- A leading Armenian opposition leader says President Serzh Sarkisian will lose power if he presses head with the signing of controversial agreements normalizing relations with Turkey, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

Hrant Markarian, head of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) party, says that Sarkisian should "sober up" and oppose the agreements signed in early September.

He said Sarkisian should do so if only out of "his own interests" because one should not "cut the tree branch on which you are sitting."

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation split from the ruling coalition in April over Sarkisian's conciliatory line on Turkey.

But the nationalist party, which is particularly influential among the Armenian diaspora, has not demanded Sarkisian's resignation and did not boycott Sarkisian's meeting with the leaders of dozens of the country's political parties on September 17.

The main opposition party, the Armenian National Congress, did boycott the meeting.